The Gift That Keeps on Giving
by chocolatequeen
Summary: The Doctor and Rose had a fun time at an alien holiday party, but now they're ready to go back to the TARDIS. Unfortunately, the Doctor doesn't realise there was ginger in the punch, and he's useless for getting them home. And it's snowing. But Bad Wolf is not about to let her Doctor die of hypothermia on an alien planet, only a few miles from home.
1. Chapter 1

Sagganach. It was the winter party to end all winter parties. Not a Christmas party, the Doctor had carefully pointed out to Rose, but frankly, she couldn't tell the difference. The planet wasn't Earth and the locals weren't human, but the holly and evergreen boughs decking the halls sure seemed familiar.

Even the mulled wine tasted just the way it always did, and in the end, that very nearly proved to be the end of them.

It was just starting to snow when they left the party to return to the TARDIS. One of the locals peered doubtfully up at the starless sky before looking at the Doctor. "Are you sure you will not stay with us for the night, Doctor and Rose Tyler? You would be very welcome. Snow that comes during Sagganach always falls hard and fast."

The Doctor buttoned up his coat and slung a navy blue scarf around his neck. "Nah." He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Even if it gets bad, I can find the TARDIS."

He winked at Rose and tapped the side of his head, and she realised he must have some special ability to find the ship.

"Very well," their host said reluctantly. "It has been a blessing to have you here for this holiday festival."

The Doctor pulled his hands out of his pockets and slid gloves on, then took Rose's mittened hand. "We had a jolly good time," he said cheerfully, then tugged her out into the snow.

Rose giggled when he started swinging their hands between them while they walked. "Are you sure you didn't have a bit too much holiday cheer?" she teased. "You're awfully giddy, even for you."

The Doctor nudged her with his elbow. "I'm a Time Lord, Rose," he said dramatically. "We do not get drunk; we do not get tipsy. I am just. fine."

Rose cast him a sidelong glance, taking in his skinny body and the spiky hair. _Yes, you are,_ she thought, but managed to keep the words to herself, despite the fact that she _was_ a bit tipsy.

The snow kept coming down heavier, and Rose felt the tip of her nose go numb. "How much longer until we're back to the TARDIS?" she asked. Her knee length parka kept her fairly warm, but it wouldn't for much longer.

The Doctor stopped, and Rose watched him squint slightly. "We're only…" He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. "Hmmm, about…"

Something flickered through his eyes, but before she could ask about it, he cupped his hands over his ears. "Blimey, it's cold out here," he muttered.

"You don't need to tell me that," Rose agreed, slapping her hands together to keep her fingers warm. A shiver ran down her back, and she rubbed vigorously at her arms to warm them. "But hang on. I thought you had that superior biology that let you adjust your own body temperature so you never got too hot or too cold."

The Doctor swayed slightly on his feet and his eyes went out of focus for a moment. Then they opened, and panic stared down at Rose. "Was there any ginger in the punch?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders.

Rose blinked up at him. "Well yeah, I think so," she said. "I mean, I didn't watch them make it, but that's not an uncommon ingredient in Christmas punch so…"

The Doctor let go of her and raked his hands through his hair. Snow showered down around his eyes, some of it catching on his eyelashes. "Oh, no. Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad."

"Why exactly is this bad?" Rose asked, tamping down her own panic.

He shivered and tightened the scarf around his neck. "Time Lords can metabolise alcohol. It shouldn't affect us at all, unless we choose to get drunk. But ginger makes us unable to metabolise the liquor, and we'll get just as wasted as a human."

Rose felt herself blanch. "And can a drunk Time Lord track a TARDIS?"

"They cannot," he said, confirming her suspicion. "I can't regulate my body temperature, either."

It was probably fear that left Rose feeling cold, but the gust of wind that blew across the open field and cut through her parka didn't help. "You mean you're just like a human right now. And we left that party, where we would have been safe, without any special Time Lord tricks on our side."

He nodded miserably, and Rose regretted her phrasing. He hadn't realised he was drunk when he declined the offer to stay. In fact, she realised, his inebriation had probably influenced his decision.

Rose shook her head; she would have questioned it if she'd known he could get drunk! "We've got to talk more about these things," she muttered as she hooked her elbow through his. "Come on then, time to find someplace to get out of the wind. Because there's no way I can get us back to the TARDIS on our own."

But they'd parked the TARDIS on an open plain without any shelter to speak of. Rose did remember that they'd passed a small stand of trees on their walk into the village, but given that the Doctor's sense of direction was apparently offline, she had no idea if they were anywhere near the TARDIS or the slight shelter of the trees.

"Bloody hell," she muttered as she turned a slow circle, trying to see in the near white-out conditions. "This is a hell of a mess you've gotten us into, Doctor."

"Yeah, but you'll get us out of it," he said sanguinely and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Rose shook her head. Her face was painfully cold now, and her teeth were chattering. "I wish I had your confidence in me."

The Doctor hummed, that happy little sound he made in the back of his throat. "So do I. Because you're brilliant, Rose."

She paused and looked up at him. His pupils were completely dilated, but he also looked sincere.

"You always save me. I'm never worried when I'm with you." His eyebrows knit together, and he shook his head quickly. "Unless they're threatening you. I don't like it when they do that."

The dark tone in his voice sent a shiver down Rose's back, but even though she knew she ought to discourage his vengeful tendencies, a shiver of warmth ran down her spine.

"My hero," she murmured, thinking of the few times she'd been captured, forcing him to come to her rescue. "Come on, we need to keep walking," she said, tugging on his hand and leading him in a randomly selected direction.

The snow was well past their ankles by now, and Rose was grateful she'd worn boots instead of the cute shoes that had tempted her. Her legs were cold from the top of the boots to the hem of her coat, and the uncovered part of her forehead was aching, but hopefully, she wouldn't lose any fingers or toes from this little adventure.

Thankfully, they came across a few trees about fifty steps later. Rose pulled the Doctor off the path, cursing under her breath when she sank into knee-deep snow. Despite the drifts, the wind did seem to be better now that they were sheltered by the trees. Rose shrugged; it wasn't like she could get them anywhere better, and if they kept wandering in the storm, there was no way they were going to survive.

"Come on, Doctor," she directed, guiding him to a spot where two large trees stood close together, creating a little corner out of the wind. "You stand against the trees, and I'll—"

"No." He shook his head and turned so Rose had her back to one of the trees, and then he wrapped his arms around her. "Like this. I'm taller; I can keep you warm."

His sweetness certainly warmed her, and Rose allowed herself to relax a little, resting her cheek against his wool coat. They stood like that for a few minutes, then she felt herself drifting off.

Rose shook the sleepiness out of her eyes and made herself stand up straight. "Hey Doctor," she started, feeling like conversation would be the best way to stay awake.

"Hmmm?" He turned slightly, and his nose brushed against Rose's forehead.

She tilted her head back so she could look him in the eye and shivered when the wind pushed into the gap that created between them.

"Cold!" the Doctor grumbled. He pulled her close again, and Rose settled back against him, resting her head against his shoulder so she could watch his face.

"S-sorry," she stuttered. "I won't do that again." She paused and furrowed her brow. There was something she'd wanted to ask him… _Oh!_ "Why were you so determined that this festival isn't Christmas? It's pretty much the same thing, just with a different name."

The moonlight reflected off the fallen snow, and she caught his pout. "A real Christmas party would have had mistletoe."

Rose's heart flipped. "What did you want mistletoe for?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

The Doctor scoffed. "Well not for eating. Mistletoe can be deadly, if you eat it."

"Yeah, I saw the old Batman movie too," Rose said, rolling her eyes at the Doctor. "Come on, tell me."

"Why do you think?"

She sighed and leaned back against the tree. "I should have known you wouldn't actually tell me."

The Doctor tilted his head. "D'you wan' me to tell you?"

Rose noted the slight slurring of his words with a twinge of alarm. His speech had been perfectly clear earlier—apparently drunk Time Lords didn't slur their speech—so this must be because of the cold.

She shoved the thought aside. There wasn't anything she could do about it now. Instead, she smiled at him, determined that if nothing else, she'd maybe get some answers from him tonight.

"Would be nice, yeah."

"But I thought you knew already."

Rose rolled her eyes. "That's not how it works. Oh, why am I even trying to explain this to you? You're drunk."

"Rooooose…" The Doctor huffed, and his breath felt cold on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you, I cannot get drunk? I am a Time Lord."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, but the punch had ginger in it, remember?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes for a moment, then she saw the same panicked expression he'd worn earlier. "Rose. I'm drunk. I can't get us home."

Rose snorted. "Yeah, why do you think we're leaning against this tree?"

A gust of wind blew snow off the tree the Doctor sputtered as it coated them. "Cold!" he said again, shaking to get it off of him.

She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around the Doctor's waist, smiling despite herself when he leaned against her and tugged her close. "So, Doctor… why did you wish they had mistletoe at the party?"

He hummed and buried his cold nose in her hair. "'Cause then I'd have an excuse to kish you, like I keep dreaming."

Rose's breath caught. "You've dreamed of kissing me?"

He blinked and stared at her for a moment before nodding, and Rose realised the cold was really getting to him.

"When did you dream about kissing me?" she pressed, hoping she could get some sort of straight answer out of him.

"Hmmm…"

He sounded muzzy, and Rose leaned back to look at him. His eyes were half-closed, and she slapped his shoulder, hard.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?" His voice was indignant, but at least his eyes were wide open.

"Because you're on the verge of falling asleep, and if we sleep in this, we're going to die."

The Doctor scoffed. "I'm not going to die from a little cold weather," he said. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord."

"Yes, yes," Rose interrupted. "But you're drunk because the punch had ginger, and I know that means you can't get us home. We've had this conversation twice already, Doctor."

"Rose…" He blinked twice and shook his head, then he slumped against Rose's shoulder.

Rose had to shift her balance so she wouldn't fall at the sudden burden of his full weight, and she realised he had completely passed out. "Oh no, no no no!" she muttered. She slapped his back, but nothing seemed to wake him up.

An angry denial rose up in Rose's heart. She would _not_ lose her Doctor like this. A song rose up in her mind, one she remembered from another moment when she'd been afraid that she would lose the Doctor. Gold light filled her field of vision, and Rose let the TARDIS push her way into the forefront of her mind.

She huffed in exasperation when she realised that her Doctor had kept from her the full truth about how they'd defeated the Daleks. She'd never believed his line about singing a song and running them off, but now she understood. It hurt to know he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her the truth, but they could talk about that later, when they were back on the TARDIS and safe and warm.

The Doctor snuffled slightly and moved like he was trying to burrow into Rose's body. "Right, we need to get you home," she said. She looked at him as she connected with his ship and cupped his jaw with her hand. "I want you safe, my Doctor," she said, brushing her knuckles over his cheek.

Then she closed her eyes and connected with the song hovering at the edge of her consciousness. A moment later, she heard the glorious sound of the TARDIS engines as the ship answered her call and materialised only a few feet from them.

The doors flew open, and Rose dragged the Doctor inside. She was exhausted, but the TARDIS' song turned urgent. She had to get the Doctor to the infirmary, so she pushed past her weariness and kept going.

Rose found the infirmary just off the console room and managed to get the Doctor up onto a bed. She looked around, knowing somehow that she was supposed to give him something. When she spotted the hypospray on the table, she grabbed it and injected the medicine it contained into the Doctor without hesitation. Then the gold light consumed her, and she collapsed.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor blinked a few times as he woke up, trying to figure out where he was, and then, _how_ he'd come to be in the infirmary. The memories were fuzzy, and he soon realised the slightly sluggish feeling in his head was leftover intoxication.

"Strange," he mumbled, then smacked his dry tongue against the roof of his mouth a few times. A hint of ginger lingered, which explained the unusual drunkenness.

He closed his eyes and waited for his memories to return. He'd been at the Sagganach party with Rose, and they'd left in the snow…

The Doctor's eyes flew open. "Rose!" he gasped as he pushed himself upright. She'd been with him, and if he'd gotten cold enough to lose consciousness, she would have been in just as much danger.

The sight of a familiar form lying in a heap on the floor had him jumping off the table and crouching beside her. "Please don't do this to me," he begged the universe. He turned her over, his hearts stopping when her body flopped lifelessly onto her back. Her lips were blue and her skin was icy cold to the touch.

 _Just unconscious,_ he told himself, repeating it over and over as he lifted her up and put her on the table he'd just vacated. "Come on, Rose," he muttered. His memory had come back enough to know that somehow, she had become Bad Wolf again. He'd taken that out of her because it was killing her, and finding her unconscious and unresponsive made his stomach clench painfully.

The Doctor's still-cold hands fumbled with her coat buttons, but finally, he unbuttoned it enough to slip shaking fingers beneath her scarf and press them to her neck.

Nothing.

He drew a shuddering breath, but waited five seconds before panicking. Maybe her heart rate had just slowed due to exposure to the cold.

Still nothing.

Sobs built up in the back of the Doctor's throat, but he swallowed them down and forced himself to get to work. Rose wasn't dead; he refused to believe that. She couldn't… he'd never told her…

He stood back and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. Once he had his tears under control, he worked methodically to get Rose warm again. "They're not dead until they're warm and dead." The old adage about hypothermia flashed through the Doctor's mind as he performed CPR to get blood flowing to her brain. Until Rose's core temperature was back within normal ranges, there was still a chance she could be resuscitated.

The next few minutes passed in a daze for the Doctor—CPR, then undressing Rose and drying her off before wrapping her in an electric blanket. More CPR, followed by a warmed IV to warm her internally.

Finally, he took a moment to scan her with the sonic screwdriver, hoping he would learn something positive. As he waved the device over Rose's body in three long passes, he noticed her lips weren't quite as blue as they had been.

Then he saw it—a tiny hint of movement in her chest, the shallowest of breaths. The sonic fell from his numb fingers and he leaned over Rose, hoping for some other sign of life.

"Rose?" he whispered. "Can you hear me, love?" The endearment slipped out unconsciously, but the Doctor didn't care. Today had proven the folly of all his vague ideas about keeping himself from getting hurt when he lost her eventually. He loved her; there was no way that losing her wouldn't hurt. If he got a second chance, he wouldn't waste any more time with pathetic excuses.

He remembered how interested she'd been in his comments about mistletoe and kisses, just a few hours ago. _Was that really only a few hours ago?_ He sighed and ran a hand over his face. But anyway! Surely if she'd been so keen to get some kind of confession out of him, it meant she was equally interested in kissing and… things?

The computer beeped, signalling that it had received the data taken from the scans. The Doctor brushed a strand of hair back over Rose's ear, then he sighed and trudged over to the monitor.

Scans flashed across the screen too fast for him to read all the information, but he did catch two words: _healing coma._ The Doctor blinked, then he tapped the screen and went back to the beginning of the report.

His eyes widened as he read. All of the diagnostic results and system scans were very familiar, but they were not human. There was something unexpected going on here… but if it meant Rose was alive, he wasn't going to argue. If they meant he wouldn't lose her to a pitifully short human life, he _really_ wasn't going to argue.

When he was done reading, the Doctor moved to the chair by Rose's bed. He took her hand and stared down at the sleeping woman. "We have a lot to talk about when you wake up, love," he told her. "Hopefully, you won't mind spending the next few centuries with me."

oOoOoOoOo

Rose sighed and stretched as she woke up. She felt like she'd just had the best night of sleep of her life, and even though the medicinal odour told her she was in the infirmary before she even opened her eyes, she still felt comfortable.

"You weren't asleep," the Doctor told her quietly.

Rose blinked, then rolled onto her side and looked at him, sitting in a chair by her bed, just like he always did when he needed to take care of her.

"What do you mean, I wasn't asleep?" She propped her head up on her elbow. "I certainly wasn't awake."

A strand of hair fell in her face, and the Doctor reached out and brushed it back behind her ear before Rose could get to it. Then he smiled and took her free hand in one of his own. "You were in a healing coma."

Rose stared at him. There was a tenderness in his actions and the way he was looking at her that made her feel like maybe… maybe they weren't going to just forget his drunken confession about wanting to kiss her. She'd been prepared to brush it aside like they always did, so the unfiltered emotion in his eyes took her by surprise.

She tried to focus on his words, but they were confusing, too. He'd mentioned a healing coma shortly after Christmas; it was something a Time Lord could do if they were badly injured. So he wouldn't necessarily have to regenerate every time he was hurt—if it wasn't a fatal injury, he could put himself in a coma and his body would heal itself.

But… "How could I have been in a healing coma?" she asked. "That's something you can do. Do you mean I was just in a coma, and I happened to heal?"

Rose subtly flexed her fingers and toes, trying to feel for anything in her body that seemed out of the ordinary. But everything seemed fine—better than fine, even.

The Doctor shook his head. "Why don't we go talk about this somewhere else?" he suggested. "I don't know about you, but I've seen enough of the infirmary for now."

The soft electric blanket brushed against Rose's bare skin as she shifted on the table, and she felt her face heat up. "Uh… I think I need to put clothes on first."

His ears turned pink, but he pointed at a pile of clothes neatly folded and sitting on the edge of the counter. "Meet me in the library in ten minutes?" he suggested. "I'll bring tea."

Rose smiled. "That'd be lovely, ta."

She expected him to scurry off, but instead, he looked at her, an inscrutable expression on his face. Rose raised her eyebrows and wondered if he was hoping to get a show if he stayed.

His whole face went bright red. "Ah, tea. Right," he stammered, then spun around and darted out of the room.

His embarrassment was so potent that Rose could almost feel it herself, and she giggled after he disappeared. "What do you expect me to think when you just stare at me after suggesting I get changed?" she wondered.

The embarrassment faded, blending into something more like chagrin as she got out of the bed and put on the flannel, penguin print pyjamas bottoms.

Rose paused in the middle of buttoning the top when she realised what was happening—or at least, what seemed to be happening. _Doctor?_ she tried, testing out her new theory.

A sense of her query being acknowledged and returned washed over her.

She fumbled with the last few buttons, her fingers shaking more and more as she considered everything she'd learned in the last five minutes. Healing coma. Telepathy. Enhanced senses—that would explain why she could feel the texture of the flannel so acutely, at least.

The Doctor's footsteps echoed in the corridor and she clung to the knowledge that he was coming back. Whatever had happened, he would be here in just a minute to explain it, as much as he possibly could.

In the back of her mind, the TARDIS rolled her eyes. Rose scowled up at the ceiling. "Oi. Don't get shirty with me—I have a right to be confused."

"There's no point trying to reason with her." The Doctor paused and leaned in the doorway. "She always does whatever she thinks is right, no matter what you say."

Rose took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "What happened to me, Doctor?"

He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'll explain it all, but I'd really rather go sit in the library first." He turned halfway towards the door. "Come on; the TARDIS will have tea waiting for us."

Rose cast a suspicious glance at the ceiling. "Normal tea? Not something that will change me in ways I don't expect?"

The ship bristled and the lights brightened almost painfully. "Normal tea," the Doctor confirmed, even though she'd already gotten her answer.

When she hesitated a moment longer, he held his hand out and wiggled his fingers in invitation, just like he'd done on that Christmas night outside the Powell Estate. "Come on," he cajoled. "I know you have questions—don't you want some answers?"

Rose's lower lip stuck out in an adorable pout, and the Doctor had to hide his smile. "That's not fair," she grumbled, even as she took his hand. "You're using my very reasonable curiosity against me."

He swung their hands between them as they walked through the TARDIS. "I'm a bit eager to explain this to you, to be honest," he admitted. "Definitely not above using slightly underhanded means to convince you to come with me."

The library door was open, and a fire glowed in the fireplace. The Doctor also spotted a bunch of mistletoe hanging above the hearth, and he tugged on his ear, hoping Rose hadn't seen it. He desperately wanted to kiss her, but he didn't want her to feel pressured into it.

He focused on the much safer mugs of tea sitting on the coffee table as they sat down. "Tea, as promised," he told her, handing her the snowman mug and taking the reindeer one for himself.

Rose curled up in the corner and took a few sips, and he waited while she decided where to begin. "I feel like I can hear your thoughts." She paused, then shook her head. "Or… not quite distinct thoughts, but… I get the general idea of what you're thinking about? If that makes sense?"

The Doctor rubbed at the back of his neck. He really wished she'd started with Bad Wolf instead of the telepathy. Rose's feelings on telepathy were… not entirely positive, and he didn't know how she was going to respond to what he'd figured out.

"Yeah…" he drawled, before chickening out. "You know, it would be easier to explain that after we've talked about a few other things first. Would that be all right with you, Rose?"

She shrugged with one shoulder and drank more of her tea. "As long as you promise not to leave anything out this time," she said pointedly.

The Doctor gulped. So she'd figured out that much. "What do you remember about the Game Station?"

Rose shifted and leaned back slightly. "You sent me home, but I couldn't just sit there when I knew you were trying to save everyone, and probably dying in the process." She bit her lip. "So, I looked into the heart of the TARDIS, thinking she'd see what I wanted, just like she'd seen what Margaret the Slitheen wanted."

The Doctor nodded; he'd worked out that much. But there was one piece he had never been able to figure out, and now was the perfect time to ask. "And what did you want, Rose?" What desire had the TARDIS seen that she'd translated into allowing Rose to become a goddess of Time?

Rose reached out and took his hand. "I told you—I wanted you safe, my Doctor."

He expelled all the air in his body on a loud breath, then cocked his head as the words triggered a memory. "You said that again, tonight," he remembered. "When you called the TARDIS to come save us."

"I'll always want you safe," she said simply. She looked down at her cup, running her finger over the handle. "That's part of what it means to love someone, after all," she mumbled.

The Doctor stared at her, his jaw slack. "Rose." Her name came out sounding like a wheezy gasp, and he cleared his throat and tried again. "Rose Tyler…" He took her hand and squeezed gently until she looked up at him. "No wonder you called yourself the Bad Wolf—wolves always look out for their mates."

Rose licked her lips and nearly forgot what she was going to say when she saw the way the Doctor's gaze fixed on her tongue. "And… and are you my mate, Doctor?"

He scooted closer to her and draped one arm around her shoulders. "If you'll have me." A shadow crossed his face. "I know I should have… we should have…" He sighed, then started over. "I should have let our relationship develop months ago," he admitted. "After Rome, maybe. But I was so afraid of losing you…"

"Humans wither and die," Rose quoted.

"I was an idiot," he stated bluntly. "If I learned one thing today when I thought I might lose you, that was it. I thought I was protecting myself, but it still hurt."

He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth, and Rose wondered what reason he'd just come up with to pull back now. "I still haven't told you… Before… You should know, before you make any major decisions."

"I'm not human anymore, am I?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't know all the details, but it seems Bad Wolf has extended your life by… quite a bit. And I understand if you'd rather not spend a few centuries with me, but you need to know—for me, once we go forward, I can't go back. I need you to be certain."

Rose rolled her eyes. "For a genius, you can sure be an idiot sometimes." The Doctor frowned, and she shook her head at him. "I can stay with you? For the rest of your life?"

He nodded, and his hope and longing were palpable.

"I just told you I love you. Why wouldn't I want to be with you?" She ran her hand over his tie, then rested it over one of his hearts. "I'm never going to leave you, Doctor."

The light in his eyes took her breath away. "In that case, Rose Tyler, I love you, too."

Rose had waited so long to hear those words that they almost didn't sound like English anymore. She wondered, in a moment of giddy ridiculousness, if the translation circuit had gone offline. Maybe he'd said something completely different, but the TARDIS had gotten things mixed up.

The ever-present hum of the TARDIS sharpened into impatience. Then Rose felt a tingling in her head and she and the Doctor both looked up at the ceiling.

Laughter broke the tension in the room. A sprig of mistletoe hung prominently above their heads.

Rose slid her hand over the Doctor's shoulder, around to the back of his neck. "I think we've been given a hint." She leaned closer and tilted her head back.

The Doctor bumped his nose against hers, making her laugh softly. He was close enough that she could feel his lips curve up in a smile, but he still wasn't kissing her.

His happiness and anticipation buzzed around her, but the love, delight, and pleasure she felt echoing beck from him when his lips finally met hers made her heart race. _Doctor,_ she moaned as she swiped her tongue against his bottom lip before suckling gently on it.

The Doctor nipped at her lip, then slid his tongue into her mouth when she gasped. _Rose…_ He pulled her into his lap and sighed when she arched into his embrace. _I'll never get enough of kissing you, love._

 _Then don't stop._

He had an answer to that, but his thoughts scattered when Rose scraped her nails over his scalp. He groaned and pulled her closer, not wanting even a millimetre of space between them. This was what he'd wanted for so long—to have Rose in his arms and know that she was his and he was hers. And to know he would never lose her? That was a gift he'd never dared to hope for.

The TARDIS dimmed the lights and then took her sentient consciousness elsewhere. She didn't understand everything about the way corporeals behaved, but she knew they preferred privacy for their mating rituals.

Their soft laughter and words of love spilled out of the library, and she hummed, feeling very smug that her plans had finally worked. Her Thief had proven to be even more stubborn than she had imagined, but finally, he and her Wolf had both accepted the gift she had given them. The love they had was their own, but the time to share it—that was her gift to them.


End file.
